Oh, Charles
by kouw
Summary: The servants' bedrooms in the attic are terribly quiet at night, until one night Anna overhears something... Rated T, I think I can get away with it.
1. Oh, Charles

**A/N**: So, I wrote this because of a Tumblr entry from yes-please-mrshughes who deserves all the kudos!  
The servants' bedrooms are in the attic and it is very quiet at night. Until Anna hears something...

As always: reviews appreciated,, especially advice needed on how to end this fic, because it is left sort of hanging in the air and I don't much like it.

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The still of the night lays heavily around her. The quiet sounds of an old house drift around her, but she's used to them. Her thoughts are with John, who sleeps on a hard bunk in a cold and drafty prison cell, the damp worsening the pain in his leg. She thinks of his arms around her, his subdued kisses, his words linger in her ears.

She sleeps alone, there hasn't been a new maid since Jane left. Anna doesn't mind that she has to work two jobs. The hard work wears her out and allows her to sleep. Sometimes. She turns over and tries to block the thought of John never coming home. She allows herself to fantasize: John coming back and when he is strong and healthy again, they will move to the cottage, where she will care for him. Maybe one day they will welcome a child into the world and be a proper family.

Her heart cramps together when she lets go of her fantasy. She knows she is fortunate to have a good place and people around her who care. Lady Mary, His Lordship, Mr Carson, Mrs Hughes.

Her mind wanders to how Mrs Hughes held her and to how the older woman takes on some of Jane's old tasks without a word. How they speak quietly about the future, always a note of positivity present. Mrs Hughes' voice can sound so harsh when giving orders, but so warm when she is concerned. She looks upon Mrs Hughes almost as a mother, with Mr Carson as a strict father figure, who shows his heart with more difficulty, but is steadily there for you nonetheless.

Anna rolls back to her back. She closes her eyes and starts to will herself to sleep when she hears a noise that doesn't come from the house.

A rhythmic creaking, a throaty moan.

Anna sits up straight, the cold air whisks around her shoulders.

'It can't be,' she thinks. 'Mrs Hughes locks the door between the corridors.'

The creaking increases in sound and pace, the quiet moans get slightly louder, then they sound muffled as if something is held over a mouth.

Anna feels embarrassed, she can't drown out the noise and she thinks how upset Mrs Hughes will be to find one of the maids is engaging in... Well... Whatever you want to call it. Anna doesn't like to be the one telling either. She wonders who it could be. Who would be so bold to take her... Lover... To her bed. At least Ethel found herself a deserted room in the East wing.

"Oh Charles..."

Anna falls back on her pillow, horrified. The voice was most definitely Mrs Hughes'. There is only one man in the house who goes by the name of 'Charles'.

There is more creaking, more stifled gasping, then a sudden silence, pierced with a high pitched silent cry and the bed creaks no more.

When Anna comes to breakfast, everything is as it always is, but she can't look the Housekeeper nor the Butler in the eye. She wonders if this is what it feels like when you hear your parents 'going at it'. She sits down quietly and eats her porridge. Lady Edith's bell rings early and she excuses herself, thankful for the refuge.

Later that day Mrs Hughes helps her with changing the sheets in the Blue Room. Mrs Hughes talks to her about the family upstairs, plans for the shooting and how she will need Anna's help. She talks about tonight's dinner downstairs and how quiet it is without a second housemaid and a second footman.

"Not as quiet as the night though..." Anna mumbles, unable to keep it to herself. Her eyes cross Mrs Hughes, who breaks out in a dark, blotchy flush.

The rest of the day, they spend in silence, both feeling awkward and it takes a while for Anna to forget what she heard, but eventually she finds her equilibrium and things go back to normal.

Until, one night, three weeks later, she hears the tell tale creaking and gasps and she puts her pillow over her head and blocks all the noise out by humming a lullaby to herself. It works for a while and she feels as if a lot of time has gone by when she emerges from under her pillow, her cheeks hot from the pressure.

"Oh... God... Charles..."

She decides there and then that she will need to occupy the room at the end of the hall to get away from them until John comes home and whisks her off to their cottage. Her initial thought comes back to her tenfold: this must be what it is like to hear your parents making love. Somewhere it is quite sweet, but for the most part it is terribly, terribly embarrassing.

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**A/N**: Oh poor Anna... I remember being completely mortified hearing my parents... Though i was a lot younger. Anyway: what did you think?


	2. Creaking

**A/N: **The second installment could never be as good as the first, so I am asking for your forgiveness.  
Things that creak in the night... Still rated T! Let me know what you think!

THANK YOU, MELLASTAR! You really ARE a star! Best beta ever award goes to you!

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Her bare bottom was pressing against his groin, like it had done every night for the past thirty odd years. His hand protectively over her abdomen, his nose in her hair. The curls on his chest tickled the sensitive skin of her back. Maybe they laid wrapped so close at night because they couldn't touch during the day.

How awkward it had been when Anna hinted that she had overheard them making love. Elsie always thought she had mastered the art of being quiet, but she was evidently wrong. The past few weeks she had been trying to be even more silent as they merged and moved, but sometimes there was just no way she could stifle her moans. Elsie just hoped Anna (and everybody else) would sleep through it.

Today had been a very good day. Having John back was wonderful. Anna seemed to walk on clouds, Charles was happy to have Thomas back in the dining room, easing the strain on himself. John had asked to start work when he had been home for only three days, saying he wanted to resume a normal life again. Workmen were busy in the cottage his Lordship had appointed to the pair, preparing for Anna and John to set up house together.

For the moment Elsie had granted the still newlyweds to sleep in Anna's old room together. It was unorthodox and Charles had disagreed with it, but she had worn him down in minutes, saying people who love each other shouldn't be apart, asking him how he would feel if he had to sleep in his own room.

Anna and John had been a bit shy around each other, Elsie reflected. John was getting stronger very quickly, his limp was already lessening, but he hadn't yet laughed out loud. Not that he ever did much to begin with. As the days wore on, he relaxed however and he and Anna eased into their deep understanding.

Her bedroom was quiet. There were only the sounds of an old house. Charles' breathing was steady, but getting more shallow as if he was waking up. Just as she thought it, she could feel the hand on her stomach moving up and cupping her breast.

"I thought you were asleep..." she whispered.

"I was, until you started fidgeting..." he answered.

"I am not fidgeting. I am simply trying not to fall out of bed and I am thinking about how good it is to have everybody safely home again." she conveniently pushed the memory of William to the furthest corner of her mind.

Charles nodded. He rubbed the tips of his fingers over her nipple and she allowed him to. If they were both awake, why not make the most of it? She was just about to turn to him, when she heard a noise.

A noise that did not come from the house.

Creaking. A rhythmic creaking.

Elsie bit her lip and carefully turned over to face Charles. He frowned. Elsie had to resist the urge to giggle.

"What is that?" Charles hissed.

Elsie looked at him. "Erm..."

"How dare he!" Charles was trying to untangle himself from Elsie, but she held him back.

"What do you mean: 'how dare he'? He is making love to his wife." She turned completely and cupped his cheek with her hand. "Just like you were going to do not five minutes ago."

She understood perfectly why Charles was so protective, but the look on his face was priceless.

"Well... I don't like it, Elsie. Not one bit."

"I don't think they realize we can hear them." Just like we didn't realize they can hear us.

"Well, I can and I don't like it at all. I am going over there and..."

Even though it was dark, Elsie knew the look of determination on his face.

"No, you are not." She put her hand on his thigh, steadying him. "You are staying right here, in my room. Nobody knows you are in here." Except for Anna.

The creaking increased in speed and volume. A throaty gasp drifted from the room across the hall. Anna. Elsie bit her lip again.

"I am sorry I allowed them to sleep in Anna's room..." She wasn't really sorry, but she tried to calm Charles down, hoping her apology would help a little bit. She didn't apologize very often after all.

Charles huffed.

"Nothing I can do about it now."

"No."

"Do you remember when we were that young?" Elsie thought back to when she was Anna's age and she and Charles would grasp any opportunity they possibly could. They took risks that made her blush now. They would have quick romps in the corridor when they were getting a room ready for guests. She recalled making love the whole night through. Always careful though, always mindful of any trouble happening. She had been thankful when they didn't have to worry about that anymore. It brought a freedom they had not experienced before. Maybe she was more vocal because she was letting go of fear.

Charles was quiet. The same couldn't be said for Anna and John. Their gasps and panting sounded very restrained, but Elsie couldn't block it out.

"Are you alright?" She asked her lover.

"No." She felt it. He lay next to her, tense and rigid. Not that she was very comfortable herself. She could easily imagine how Anna must have felt overhearing her and Charles some weeks before.

"Ah... yesssss..." Anna gasped, her voice small but clear and Elsie felt Charles shudder. There was a deep sigh which Elsie knew had to come from John Bates. The creaking stopped.

Charles let out a relieved sigh. "I thought they would never..." his voice trailed off.

"Like I said: they are young and they have been apart for a long time. I recall the nights when you returned from the season..."

"That is different." His voice sounded gruff.

"How?"

"I don't know. For one, I don't mind hearing you."

"Good..." She realized what he meant though. "They will be in their own home soon. We won't hear anything from them then."

"I am glad. This is not good for a fa... man's heart." She had heard his hesitation. She loved him all the more for it.

"I understand." She reached over him to pull up the covers around them. "Now, try to get some sleep, we have our work cut out for us tomorrow." She manoeuvred herself so they were more comfortable, his head cradled against her breasts, her chin on top of his head, arms around each other. The night was silent again. There was only the sound of the pair of them breathing.

They were like that for long minutes. Elsie found it increasingly more difficult to stay still, but she willed herself to stay as steady as she could. If she were to start fidgeting again, Charles would wake up - at least, she assumed he was sleeping again. The weight of his head on her chest was starting to get too much and she contemplated a different position.

"What are you thinking of?" Charles' voice rumbled through the room.

"Nothing."

He snorted, amused. "I have spent the better half of my life with you. I know when you are brooding, Elsie."

"I am not brooding."

"Alright."

"I am just... wondering..."

"Yes?"

"Do you think... nothing. Go back to sleep." She pushed him off her chest and turned her back to him, like how they normally slept. It gave her the advantage of him not being able to see her face.

"What do I think?"

He had extraordinary patience with her, it had to be said.

"Do you think they will start a family, Charles? Soon?"

He pulled her closer.

"If we're lucky."

Elsie pressed her whole form against him in an effort to express how much she loved him.

"Sleep now..." he said and she relaxed and drifted off.

Two weeks later Elsie helped Anna pack. This afternoon she and John would leave to move into their cottage. Elsie knew she would miss Anna very much, even if she would come in daily after breakfast. She wouldn't miss the nightly creaking and Charles getting upset about it. Charles had not touched her in that way since that first night they had heard Anna and John making love and Elsie hated to admit it, but it frustrated and that did not enhance her mood.

She folded a nightgown and put it in the trunk. There was some underwear in there, more nightgowns and shifts and Anna's Sunday best. The same ensemble she wore at her wedding.

"Well... that's that..." she sighed after placed the last pair of stocking on top of the nightgown. Anna nodded.

"It will be terribly quiet at the cottage."

"Not for long if you keep..." Elsie blurted out. Immediately an uncomfortable blush settled on her cheeks and when she looked up at Anna, she saw the girl sporting a same red colour on her cheeks and in her neck.

Later that night Charles and Elsie stood side by side in the doorway and watched how Anna and John walked to their new home after a proper send off.

"I'm glad they are on their way." Charles said as he handed Elsie his handkerchief to dry her eyes.

"Are you?"

"Yes." He put his arm around her shoulders and turned her around and together they walked into the hall.

"Why?"

He pressed her against the wall, lowered his head and whispered in her ear:

"Because now I can listen to our own creaking again..."

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**A/N:** Well, that's been all the creaking. Thank you so much for reading (if you made it this far, of course)!  
Reviews are much appreciated!


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